Seeing things

Pennyc

Registered User
Nov 26, 2020
32
0
Hi all
My dad has mixed dementia and is at the moderate stage. He talks to cushions and is obsessed with keeping them warm by putting them on the radiator. We humour him as he’s not harming anyone.
He’s now started seeing bugs like flies and is forever swatting them away. Anyone else had this?
 

Jessbow

Registered User
Mar 1, 2013
5,677
0
Midlands
My mother used to have a little girl visit, she always had green hair ribbons.
We had ants on the floor, and regular visits from narrow boats full of lesbians ( no idea why they were always lesbians but....) One night we had a visit from the fire brigade, they all went into the airing cupboard, apparently.

There was almost no end to the things she could see that we couldn't.
 

Cedaroflebannon

Registered User
Sep 6, 2020
55
0
Hi - I haven’t posted before but what you’ve written made me realise what might be in store! OH was diagnosed a year ago with early stage Alzheimer’s and we have been coping reasonably well. However tonight he thought he was about to play John Higgins in the snooker match on the TV and was looking around for his score card! - I was clearing up at the sink. I tried to reassure him that he was at home etc but it took him longer than usual to come back to reality. I suppose this is the beginning of a new phase.? Any advice about bringing him back to reality would be appreciated. Many thanks.
 

Banjomansmate

Registered User
Jan 13, 2019
5,389
0
Dorset
The Banjoman would see ”bugs” on the floor and non existent thread on any surface, spending hours delicately picking it off and placing it down somewhere else.
He was always telling me that “they” were out in the car park rehearsing for the show. I never found out who “they” were.
 

Catastrophe

Registered User
Feb 15, 2019
77
0
Hi - I haven’t posted before but what you’ve written made me realise what might be in store! OH was diagnosed a year ago with early stage Alzheimer’s and we have been coping reasonably well. However tonight he thought he was about to play John Higgins in the snooker match on the TV and was looking around for his score card! - I was clearing up at the sink. I tried to reassure him that he was at home etc but it took him longer than usual to come back to reality. I suppose this is the beginning of a new phase.? Any advice about bringing him back to reality would be appreciated. Many thanks.
Sorry no advice, just rang a bell with me. My Dad is convinced he knows and trained all the snooker players in our home town. Despite never having played before in his life. It's harmless so I humour him.
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
I think it is useless and extremely frustrating trying to bring them back to reality.
When I don't manage to distract my husband, I go with the flow giving noncommittal answers or comments. And as soon as possible I leave the room with any excuse I can think of . Usually " Sorry...I need to go to the toilet ".
 

karaokePete

Registered User
Jul 23, 2017
6,534
0
N Ireland
Hello @Pennyc and @Cedaroflebannon

A chat with the GP may be worthwhile in both your cases.

A feeling of bugs on the skin or whatever can be caused by certain disorders and there may be some treatment available.

Hallucinations and confabulations have been par for the course with my wife but if things suddenly worsen it's always worth considering the possibility of an infection, such as a UTI, being at play. Infections can cause havoc but are usually treatable.

Sometimes anxiety can be the cause of unusual behaviours and that can be treated if it is an issue.

I hope some of those thoughts help.
 

Maria Laura

New member
Feb 28, 2021
1
0
My parents ( 87 & 83 y/o) live on their own, w/ part time providers to care for them. My mom has
been saying false stories about things she “sees“ & “hears”, & about my dad ( he has Parkinson’s & is immobile), she has become incontinent & refuses to let the providers help her w/ taking her medicines, she sometimes is awake at odd hours of the night & then sleeps much of the morning. Per the providers, she is very antagonistic towards my dad. Her cousin has Alzheimer’s & I wonder if mom has that too. None of us siblings live in the town where they live, a couple of siblings take turns visiting each week. We don’t know if she will be reasonable or not from one day to the next. Who does a diagnosis of all these symptoms ? And who can decide she isn’t of sound mind?
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Hi - I haven’t posted before but what you’ve written made me realise what might be in store! OH was diagnosed a year ago with early stage Alzheimer’s and we have been coping reasonably well. However tonight he thought he was about to play John Higgins in the snooker match on the TV and was looking around for his score card! - I was clearing up at the sink. I tried to reassure him that he was at home etc but it took him longer than usual to come back to reality. I suppose this is the beginning of a new phase.? Any advice about bringing him back to reality would be appreciated. Many thanks.
Mistaking TV for reality and thinking that what is happening on TV is actually happening to them in their home is really common. When this started with mum I had to be really careful about what she watched as anything violent upset her. Soaps, quite a few reality shows and especially the news were a definite no-no. Even nature shows could upset her as she thought wild animals were roaming her home.

You wont be able to bring them back to reality, Im afraid, so unless they are upset its best to just "go with the flow" I learned to make lots of neutral noises, which acknowledged that I had heard her, but were neither agreeing, not disagreeing with her, too

Hello @Maria Laura and welcome to DTP
Who does a diagnosis of all these symptoms ? And who can decide she isn’t of sound mind?

Where are you in the world? If you are in UK you need to get your mum to the GP who will do some preliminary tests (blood tests etc) to rule out any other causes for her confusion and then refer her to the Memory Clinic. Other countries have different procedures.
 

Cedaroflebannon

Registered User
Sep 6, 2020
55
0
Thanks Canary - a timely reminder to go with the flow; it’s when a “new” symptom appears that I can get thrown. So good to know others are going through this or have been.
 

Cedaroflebannon

Registered User
Sep 6, 2020
55
0
I think it is useless and extremely frustrating trying to bring them back to reality.
When I don't manage to distract my husband, I go with the flow giving noncommittal answers or comments. And as soon as possible I leave the room with any excuse I can think of . Usually " Sorry...I need to go to the toilet ".
Brilliant suggestion: going to the toilet. Haven’t tried that one!! Many thanks!!
 

Cedaroflebannon

Registered User
Sep 6, 2020
55
0
??I’m trying not to look too far ahead! One day at a time it used to be but now it’s more like one morning /one afternoon and one evening at a time!!
 

Pollyjones

Registered User
Jul 30, 2017
7
0
Shropshire
Hi all
My dad has mixed dementia and is at the moderate stage. He talks to cushions and is obsessed with keeping them warm by putting them on the radiator. We humour him as he’s not harming anyone.
He’s now started seeing bugs like flies and is forever swatting them away. Anyone else had this?
Just read your message as hubby has started staring at the floor asking where the bugs are going? I said I couldn't see them but he continued looking at floor. I tried getting to watch TV instead. This happened for 1st time yesterday, he has had an xray on his knee today and it has been a little stressful as his pain is getting him down. Just wandering if your dad improved?
 

RosettaT

Registered User
Sep 9, 2018
866
0
Mid Lincs
My OH didn't see imaginary bugs, which is quite surprising because he hates them but every little bit of crumb or fluff or debris on the floor was viewed as a bug and had to be removed. I would just make sure the floor was vacced before he was up in the morning.

My mum on the other hand, had a very nice young man who visited her in the night, they would sit on the sofa and have a very nice cup of tea, and once a neighbour turned up with all his tools to build a hand rail for the 3 steps from the pavement to the garden because his little boy wanted to play on the steps but he thought it to dangerous for him without a hand rail. At the time I wasn't aware of hallucinations or confabulations with dementia and just thought she had been dreaming.